“A very undignified way of getting somewhere.” Ash’waren muttered darkly, being reminded of when the Sharen had dragged her through the mud in front of Diva’ratrika at the end of their war.“There are worse things.” Waes’soloth’s monotone voice came from up ahead, the Beldrobbaen having taken the lead of the small group. Just behind her were Ariel and Kharla’ggen, the Vloz’ress wearing a deep-orange suit of armour with dragon-skulls as her shoulder-guards. Ariel’s hair was braided elaborately, only certain parts of the hair dyed red so that it looked like the Saghress clan-insignia on her back.The Sullisin’rune could not stop the shudder down her back. The black-haired woman had been known for her unmoved nature, but the taint had worsened it by far. She shared a brief glance with the Val’Sharen walking beside her. Suddenly Waes’soloth disappeared, fading into the shadows of the small pipe up above. They waited for a few moments, before soft knocking informed them that the coast was clear.Between one Earth-affinity and several Earth-foci, the toilet stood little chance, soon falling apart. Waes’soloth stood waiting, a body with broken neck in one of her hands. “And he just wanted to go to the toilet.” Koil’dorath grinned lightly, quickly marching to the door to listen to the corridor outside. “Clear.”“For several corridors in all directions.” Ash’waren added, her eyes glowing lightly as she extended her empathy out. “The defenders are moving to the door. I feel surprise... They did not expect this siege.”“Who’d dare attack the Dome?” The black-white haired Sarghress asked rhetorically as she slowly opened the door and peered around. “Which way?”The Beldrobbaen said nothing, merely turning down the corridor she wanted.They encountered only a few stray guards, most having gone to reinforce the defence. Leading them through slave-corridors, barely wide enough for Kiel’s Berserker, they ended up at the top of the great stairs leading from the throne-room to the door.Even when seeing the devastation, the Beldrobbaen showed no emotion. Though she did stare at the rubble blocking the throne-room for a bit before they moved down the stairs.Between Ash’waren’s empathy and Waes’soloth’s summoned shadows, they reached the door to the Council Room without anyone noticing them.Inside there were loud voices, Quill’yate unable to stop a smirk at the fact that the loudest seemed to be the one from Quain’tana. Said smirk was quick to vanish when she registered what was happening inside.

“Then kill me!” The Sarghress snarled, undaunted by the fact that there was nothing she could do to keep the Vel’Sharen from lopping her head off should the other take her up on that. “If you think that’ll get your Waes’soloth back, do so: it won’t matter because I did nothing to her.”They had put her in the open space inside the lower circle, chained to the floor. She was facing the Beldrobbaen and Sharen-seats, while the Sarghress, Sullisin’rune and Vloz’ress-seats were empty. “It will be justice.” Odelia spoke up, glowering down upon her. Sitting beside her was Hile’wen, who had also occupied that seat while Waes’soloth still lived and behind them both stood Khal’harror, staring down at the bound female.“For justice you’d need to shove a spider up Zarv’swati’s cunt.” Quain’tana muttered darkly, throwing only the briefest of side-long glances to the female beside her. “A spider the size of a war-golem.”“If that is all you have to say...” The Vel’Sharen smirked, lifting her war-axe. “Your head has a date with the floor.”Nothing stopped it as it went down, until it hit unprotected flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere, hitting the Sharen as much as the ground. For a few long moments, there was silence... and then a soft thumb as flesh hit stone. Quain’tana’s hair reddened as blood started to pool on the marble floor.

Quain’tana gasped when blood drenched the simple dress she wore. The heavy weight of a body was on her. Someone had jumped in front of Sarv’swati’s axe, taking the hit meant to separate the Sarghress from her head. Who would...?“No!” The voice came not from either of the circles, instead from the closed door. The Sharen tensed, straining against invisible bonds on her limbs that forced her backwards from the two in front of her.Quain turned as best she could, looking at the body that had slid down from her back: a Vlozress in an orange dress, wearing no armour. Her eyes widened at the hair of the new-comer: pitch-black, reaching to well beyond her behind.She was stopped from having her thoughts go places when the door was forced open, a mass of flesh charging well into the room with his momentum. Two forms engaged the guards, one wearing gold, the other red. Long orange hair flowed behind the red-clad woman as she rushed the Sharen to the left of the door.She needn’t have bothered: he fell half-death to the ground as blood flowed from his facial openings. The work of an Empath.“Ash...” The Sarghress whispered as the Sullisin’rune marched forward, followed by three others. She recognized Sil’lice readily, but it took her a few moments to tell who the other two were. Above her Valla’drielle hissed, Kharla’ggen ignoring the Ssu in favour of steadily forcing the second Sharen-sister down to her knees. Red eyes burned in the cover of the helmet, one hand outstretched.Ariel completely ignored the shock in her mother’s eyes, falling to the ground beside the black-haired woman. She started frantically whispering as others followed them. A Kyorl’solenurn and Vloz’ress fell to their knees at her side, worry permeating the air around them.The Berserker smashed down part of the lower circle, allowing the rest to easily pour inside. “What...?” Quain looked at the group that had apparently come to her rescue, forming a protective circle around her bound form even as the rest of the people were trying to recover from their surprise. “You didn’t think we’d leave you here?” Koil’dorath demanded, crouching down to see if she could open the chains.“You’ll change nothing with this.” Sarv’swati hissed, forced to kneel under Kharla’ggen’s furious eyes.“We’ll change a great deal.” Ash’waren countered, the armour on her skin feeling alien. “For one thing, you’ll not leave this place alive.”“You underestimate your opposition.” Odelia’sigismunde had recovered, rising from her seat.“Odelia, stand down.” A sharp order carried by a voice filled with pain as her owner got hoisted up by two youngsters. Waes’soloth’s back was impenetrable shadows, her form trembling as she strained to repair the damage done by the Sharen’s axe. Chiri kludged her sealing-gem, ready to drain away nether should it be needed. Her red eyes fixed on the dark-blue ones of the woman standing at the Beldrobbaen-seat. “This is the business of the Council, not a Warmaster.”The silence was deafening, even as the Beldrobbaen pulled herself free from her supports sharply, pushing her bloodied hair back in frustration. She was breathing heavily as she joined Ash’waren and Sil’lice, almost meekly followed by Ariel. The sound of her hair smashing the chains holding Quain down was like an explosion, her face showing a faint hint of distaste.“Waes’soloth...” Quain’tana slowly rose to her feet, eyes travelling erratically over the other’s body. Blood still dripped down from the half-healed wound on her back.It seemed almost concerned, the way Kharla’ggen stepped just a bit closer to the Beldrobbaen. Her armoured hand slipping in the bloodied one was a far more certain signal.“Quain’tana.” The voice sounded even, too even. Blood-red eyes met purple like nothing stood between them. “It is a relief to see you are still well.” A relief not conveyed by her voice.“It’s a surprise you are alive.” The Sarghress voiced the opinions of just about everyone present. “What happened to you?”“Sarv’swati.” Ariel spoke up, resting her halberd on the ground as she stood at Waes’soloth’s other side. “As I have been claiming ever since this mess began.”“And Sarv’swati’s daughter.” The Kyorl’solenurn added, her grip on the sealing-gem white-knuckled.“And then Sarv’swati herself again.” The young Vloz’ress – only now did she realize it was Kharla’ggen’s sister – added, leaning against the Berserker half-bored. “So yeah, Sarvsie might get kinda skrewed over here.” She looked up, to where Chrystel stood at her mother’s side. “By the big pile of Tiki-shit she dug herself into. Told ya Waes could not get killed by a fucking Sarg-patrol.”“It is rather concerning your clan was the only one to realize that.” Waes’soloth dryly stated, hair writhing in the air behind her. “Kill her.”Flesh shifted, transformed into something it was never meant to be. The still considerable aura of Diva’ratrika’s second daughter was devoured, added to the ocean surrounding the young Vloz’ress Ill’haress.

She trembled, watching impassively as the form on the ground in front of her stopped twitching.“Waes?” Someone asked, a hand settling on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”Her hand shook almost violently. The demon had taken her up on her plea of ‘let me live until I had my revenge’. Her shaking legs gave way underneath her.Armoured arms closed around her middle, slowly lowering her. Kharla leaned over her, worry in those tainted eyes.“It does not even hurt...” The Beldrobbaen whispered, almost as if she could not feel the spasms wrecking her body as a remnant of self-preservation fought against the demon clawing to get out. Her back arched, head thrown back as every muscle in her tensed. Blood-red eyes met dark-grey, mother and son for a brief moment looking at each other. Emotion appeared on her face, sadness tingeing her look of calm acceptance.She would have preferred him not seeing this.Wrenching herself free from Kharla’s hold she curled up on the floor, trying to suppress the erratic movements of her muscles.Pain finally assailed her senses, burning in her mind. Where they simply not draining her? Or had it gone too far already?Faintly the voice of her last remaining child pierced the veil of agony. She could not understand him.The voice grew louder, arguing. The pain burned even more, threatening to overwhelm her.She could not fall with him this close. She’d hurt him!

He cradled her body, refusing to let his mother go. Waes’soloth seemed no longer sentient as she twisted in the arms of her child. She had broken her fingers clawing on the ground, blood pouring from various wounds not there a short while ago. She clung to a remnant of control, though none could tell how long that would last.Khal shuddered, feeling her hot blood on his legs when her back-wound reopened. “Mother...” He whispered brokenly, clinging to the elder female. “I am sorry... so sorry.” How could he have missed this? How could he have failed to realize that she still lived!? And now she had been reduced to this...He briefly glanced at the shards of a sealing-gem, broken under the nether tormenting the Beldrobbaen. He’d not fail her again. If this was to be her grave, it would be his just as much.Her body froze and to his horror he saw her skin change. Head snapping upward, his silver eyes met another set of red. Glowing behind her mask, they stared down from Kharla’s face, fixed upon her ‘attendant’. An attempt to preserve something of Waes’soloth perhaps?A last glimmer of instinct activated, flesh turning to shadow under her mental grip.“Devouring aura...” Kiel whispered. “A veritable sea, adding them to her own...”Khal wanted to demand what she meant, wanted to tell them to let his mother at least die in peace, but a hand clutched at his hair.“Khal...” His mother’s voice, strained and pain-filled, tore his attention back to the woman he was holding. Fully red eyes looked at him, but they were filled with recognition. “Khal...”“Mom?” The young male gasped, wincing at the tight grip her other hand had on his arm. She curled up, trembling as she clung to her last life-line.After what seemed like hours, her body went slack, melting into her son’s hold. Kharla stumbled, for the first time in a good while mentally exhausted.“I guess it’s time to call off that attack outside...” Kiel muttered lightly, supporting her sister.